Pope tells new archbishops that evil will never defeat Christ, church

Published: 2006-06-29

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The powers of evil and death will never triumph over Christ and the church he built on the rock of Peter and continues to fortify with his successors, Pope Benedict XVI told new archbishops from 18 countries. Though the church and Christ are continually walking toward their cross, suffering and being tossed to and fro like a small boat on a sea whipped up "by the winds of ideologies, ... in the suffering church, Christ is victorious," the pope said during a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica for the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul June 29. During the Mass, the pope gave the archbishops named within the previous year a pallium, a circular band of white wool marked with six black crosses. The pallium symbolizes an archbishop's authority and unity with the pope. The pope and archbishops were dressed in brilliant red vestments, but the pope wore a longer, more traditional style of the pallium. Among the 27 archbishops receiving palliums were U.S. Archbishops Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, George H. Niederauer of San Francisco and Donald W. Wuerl of Washington.

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